It's Still You

Staciel "How long are we going to stay here Staciel?" Raptalia asked. She hates books but she still came here with me anyway. "Just a moment. I am still undecided which book I should purchase", I replied. "I'm hungry and I smelled pizza over there." she pointed at the pizza store right in front of this book store. People were coming in and out and I suddenly heard a low rumbling. I laughed. "Someone's hungry. Why don't you order food first? I'll be with you in a while," I replied. "Alright! If you don't show up soon, I'll eat the whole pizza by myself," she said and got out. I sighed and looked at the books in my hand. I wanted a fantasy genre, but I also wanted an action genre. My money can only buy one book. I sighed again. "Hey," a voice suddenly came out behind me. I turned and saw a man wearing eyeglasses. He smiled shyly at me. "Uh, hey?" I replied back. I didn't know him at all. "I suggest you pick this one." He pointed his finger at the fantasy book I was holding. "It's a good book. I also have a copy of that," he said. "Great! I'll pick up this book then. Thank you," I said as I put back the other one on the shelf. "Oh Don't mind me. I just saw you struggling to pick up a good book. My name's Kevin. See you around Milady." He waved his hand goodbye and casually walked out of the store with a few books he is holding inside a paper bag. I shrugged and went to the cashier and paid for the book. I went outside and remembered that Talia was in the pizza store. When I went inside, I saw her sipping her favorite shake flavor with a box of pizza in front of her. She waved her hand the moment she saw me. "Staciel! Guess what?" she excitedly said the moment I sat on the chair. "What?" I asked. "I just heard that there's a newly opened bar just a few blocks away from here. Let's go and have some fun!" she exclaimed. "Look Talia, you know I am not a fan of that place," I said. She pouted at my response. "I am just trying to get you there. Maybe you could change your mind? I really hate to go there alone. Besides, we can only be young once, so try and live your best," she said. "No," I simply replied and she sighed. I picked up the pizza slice and took a bite. Talia was discussing another topic with me and just laughed with her. Time flies so fast and it's already dark. She took the last pizza and stood up. "Let's go. Tomorrow let's shop. I need new clothes," she picked up the car key in her side pocket and we went to her car. She had a red Audi that she bought last year. I still don't have a car. My uncle will buy one for me on my next birthday as he promised. The drive wasn't long. Soon the brown gate towards my house appeared in my eyes as Talia stopped in front of it. I got out of the car and that's when I noticed that there was another car there. Talia and I immediately recognized it. "Oh looks like Jace is here. I heard his parents came back here after being away from work for a year," she said. "Yeah I heard that," I replied. What is Jace doing here anyway? He is my childhood best friend. We were inseparable back then, but unfortunately, he moved out to another country when we were in high school. That's when I met Raptalia. After 4 months, he came back here and I introduced him to Talia and that's when we became a trio, but he transferred to another school, so we haven't seen each other for a while now. "See you tomorrow Staciel. Don't forget we'll go shopping around 2 in the afternoon." She winked. "Yeah sure," I said and opened the gate. Talia went off. I closed the gate and went inside the house. There, I saw Jace together with his parents. His mother, Mara, is looking gorgeous as ever and his father, Kaydee, is still looking very handsome. Their family has really good genes. "I'm home," I caught their attention. Jace instantly smiled at me, stood up and hugged me. "Where have you been?" he asked. I raise the book I bought and he chuckles. He is fully aware how I love books so much. "The usual," I said. "Speaking of books, I bought you some." He pointed to one box on the floor and I gasped. I quickly ran towards it and opened the box, which contained around fifteen books. "Jace, you really are the best!" I exclaimed as I scanned the books one by one. "Are you having fun today, Staciel? Jace personally picked that for you," Mara said. I looked at Jace and caught him scratching his head while smiling. "Thank you very much!" I said. "Staciel, come here. We have stuff to talk about," I heard my uncle's voice and it was serious. The excitement I felt suddenly came down and I looked at them with confusion. Jace is already sitting in the center of his parents on the couch and they are all smiling at me. My uncle was sitting across them with a serious expression and he seemed like he is thinking something. "What's wrong?" I asked him. I am now sitting beside him. "Rolan, you don't have to pressure yourself. We'll tell her instead. Besides, we are not rushing things," Kaydee said. "What are you guys talking about?" I asked, confused about what was going on. "We were planning to let you marry my son Jace. We have things prepared for both of you," Mara answered. I didn't notice how my mouth gaped open at the sudden news. I looked at Jace and I saw a hopeful and soft emotion in his eyes as he met mine. "You gotta be kidding me," is the only word I uttered. "It's not," my uncle answered. He sighed. "But Jace is my best friend!" I am still shocked. It's weird for me if I'm marrying my own best friend.